Current collector for rotary shaft of electroplating apparatus



55' J. E. ERHARDT, JR 2,773,247

CURRENT COLLECTOR FOR ROTARY SHAFT or ELECTROPLATING APPARATUS 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed mm s. 1951 INVENTOR JOHN E. ERHARDT JRv ATTORNEY Dec. 4, 1956 J. E. ERHARDT, JR 2,773,247

CURRENT COLLECTOR FOR RQTARY SHAFT OF ELECTROPLATING APPARATUS Filid Oct. 3, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR JOHN EERHARDT JR.

ATTORNEY Dec. 4, 1956 J. E. ERHARDT, JR 2,773,247

CURRENT COLLECTOR FOR ROTARY SHAFT OF ELECTRQPLATING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 3, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR JOHN E. ERHARDT JR.

I w l d l ATTORNEY Dec. 4 1956 J. E. ERHARDT, JR.

CURRENT COLLECTOR FOR ROTARY SHAFT 0F ELECTROPLATING APPARATUS 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Oct. 3, 1951 INVENT OR JOHN E. ERHARDT JR.

ATTORNEY United States Patent 9 CURRENT COLLECTGR FQR ROTARY SHAFT F ELECTRGPLATTNG APPARATUS John E. Erhardt, in, Baltimore, Md., assignor to Crown Cork & Seal Company, Inc, Baltimore, Md, a corporation of New York Application October 3, 1951, Serial No. 249,511

3 Claims. (Ci. 339-) This invention relates to electric current transfer devices for transferring high amperage electric current from a rotary member to a stationary member. The transfer device, according to this invention, is primarily intended for use in electrolytic plating lines where plating current is conducted from a current roll through a current transfer device to the electric generators.

In electrolytic plating it is customary to provide a plating roll which is in contact with the metal to be plated. This roll rides in bearings at either end thereof and it is the customary practice to extend the roll shaft at one end and attach thereto the current transfer shoe. In the past current shoes have been employed which comprise merely a clamp in two pieces which grip the shaft or journal of the current roll just beyond the current roll bearing. However, with that type of shoe considerable difficulty is experienced in the heating of the shoe due both to friction and current resistance. A further development of transfer shoes was to enclose them in water-jacketed housings with the rotating element revolving in a pool of transformer oil in the bottom of the jacketed housings. However, this arrangement did not prove entirely satisfactory in maintaining proper alignment between the rotating and fixed elements in the housings, and the transformer oil formed a sludge which settled to the bottom of the housings.

A further disadvantage of all known current shoes with which I am familiar, is that the shoes cannot be easily disassembled from the current roll when it was necessary to replace the current roll, as must frequently be done.

The current transfer shoe, according to the present invention, overcomes previous difiiculties by being internally cooled by a flow of liquid, and is moreover, so constructed and arranged that the current roll may be very readily detached from the transfer shoe with a minimum of effort and without displacing the transfer shoes to any appreciable extent.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of this invention to provide a transfer shoe of high capacity which can be easily maintained and installed and can be readily disconnected and re-connected to a current roll with a minimum of difiiculty.

A further object of this invention is to incorporate the current roll bearing and current shoe in one structure so that the alignment of the current roll and the rotating shoe will always be in line with each other and with the stationary element of the current shoe.

A further object of this invention is to provide a current transfer shoe arrangement in which the transfer brushes are arranged only on the upper half of the rotating shoe element and are enclosed within a cover which is hinged at one side so that it may be swung clear of the brushes and connections to provide easy observation, replacement and adjustment.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a current transfer shoe which is hollow, for permitting a flow of cooling fluid through the same.

A further object of this invention is to provide means 2 for supporting the rotating shoe when in operation and also when the current roll is removed.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a means for supporting the transfer shoe on the current roll shaft by provision of a split current bearing and a centralized coupling on the transfer shoe with a normally inoperative bearing surface provided to support the transfer shoe while the current roll shaft is uncoupled from the current shoe.

Further objects and the entire scope of this invention will become further apparent from the following detailed description and from the appended claims.

The invention may be best understood with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a side elevational view, partly in section, of a current transfer device, according to the invention.

Figure 2 shows a top plan view of the device shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 shows a sectional view taken substantially along the line 33 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 shows an isometric view of a split coupling associated with the transfer shoe.

Figure 5 shows an end view of the split coupling shown in Figure 4, this view being taken substantially along the line 5-5 of Figure 2.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, 10 designates a current roll of the type customarily employed in electroplating lines. It will be understood that roll 10 extends across a tank line structure through which themetal to be electroplated is moved. The construction of the roll 10 and its associated equipment forms no part of this invention and will therefore not bedescribed in detail.

The current transfer device which forms the primary part of the present invention is designated generally as 12. This device consists of the transfer shoe per se 14 which is in the form of an elongated cylinder having a substantially smooth outer surface 16 against which a plurality of conventional type spring-loaded carbon brushes 18 are arranged to bear.

The inside of the current shoe 14 is hollow, with an aperture, designated 20, leading from the end of the shoe opposite the attachment to roll 10. Suitably journalled within the tubular extension 22, which defines the aperture 29, is a conventional rotary joint device 24 which supplies fluid to the interior of the shoe 1.4. Brie-fly described, the'rotary valve 24 comprises an elongated tube 26 through which fluid from a supply line 28 is introduced into the shoe 14, as indicated by the flow arrows at the end of tube 26 within the shoe 14. Fluid, such as water, having good heat transfer properties may be continuously pumped into shoe 14 through pipe 28 and the fluid will escape from shoe 14 through an annular passage 30 between the outer surface of inlet tube 26 and the surrounding structure of rotary'valve 24; Fluid escaping through passage 39 will then be directed through a drain pipe 31. Normally there will be sulficient resistance to fluid flow through the passage 30 in relation to the pressure in pipe 28 to cause the shoe 14 to be substantially filled with coolant at all times.

In view of the foregoing it will be understood that cooling fluid will be continuously applied to the cylindrical surface 16 of the shoe 14 through the cylindrical wall thereof to dissipate the heat generated by current transfer between the brushes 18 and the shoe 14.

The brushes 18 will be supported upon cantilever arms 7 32 which extend parallel to the axis of shoe 14 and are supported upon and may be integral with a substantially circular end plate structure 34 which is a part of a horizontally extending tray support 36. The tray 36 is of substantially half cylindrical shape, as best seen in Figure 3 and extends from the end plate portion 34 to,

and forms a part of, the lower section 38 of a bearing in which the shaft 40 of current roll rides. Accordingly, it will be understood that the brushes 18 are supported on a structure which is automatically aligned with the bearing 38 of the roll 10.

The tray structure 36 is provided at its lowermost point with a removable plug 42. This plug may be employed to maintain within the tray 36 a bath of transformer oil or the like for providing additional cooling of the brushes and lubrication thereof. On the contrary, the plug may the removed and an air supply hose inserted in place thereof. With this arrangement a constant stream of cooling air may be moved into the area between tray 36 and shoe 14 for cooling purposes. This air will spill over the upper lips 36' of tray 36.

The assembly comprising the roller 14 and brushes 1% may be protected by a cover 44 hinged as at 46 (Fig. 3) so that it may be readily swung out of the way to permit inspection and repair of the brush system and also uncoupling of the shoe 14 from roller 10, as will be described in detail below.

A conductive path for electricity moving through the brushes 18 to external apparatus may be provided by terminal plates 48 bolted to a depending arm 50 integral with the tray 36 and end plate structure 34. Suitable insulation for maintaining the above-described structure electrically separate from the return electrical path through the electro-plating apparatus may be provided at any convenient point and such insulation will therefore not be described in detail in this specification. Only by Way of example, it may be suggested that the bearing block 38 may rest on insulating block 52 and the other normally conductive connections to the transfer shoe assembly, such as fluid inlet pipe 28 and drain pipe 31 may have a length of rubber hose, as shown in Figure 1, to maintain an electrical separation from a supporting framework of the apparatus.

I will now describe the novel arrangement for uncoupling the current roll 10 from the transfer shoe 14 in detail. The shaft 40 of current roll 10 is maintained in the lower bearing block 38 by means of a bearing cap 54, which may be bolted in the conventional way to the lower portion 38. Accordingly, insofar as the current roll 10 is concerned the latter may be readily removed by simply removing bearing cap 54.

Before the shaft 40 may be removed from its seat in bearing block 38 it is necessary to uncouple shaft 40 from transfer shoe 14 and this is done in the following manner: Referring primarily to Figures 4 and 5, the transfer shoe 14 has formed integral with one end thereof a first portion 56 of a split coupling. The portion 56 is provided with a semi-cylindrical seat 58 for receiving the end of shaft 40, in the manner shown in the various figures of the drawings. Arranged to cooperate with first portion 56- of the split coupling is a second portion of the coupling 64). This second portion 60 is constructed separate from transfer shoe 14 and is adapted to be fastened to shoe 14 by means of bolts 62 and 64 which will extend through apertures 62' and 64, respectively, into the end of shoe 14, in the manner illustrated in the drawings. To clamp the shoe 14 to shaft 40, portion 645 of the split coupling is further arranged to receive four bolts 66 through. apertures 66 in coupling portion 60 so that the coupling portions 56 and 60 may be firmly clamped together in tight frictional engagement with shaft 40.

When it is desired to remove and replace the current roll 19 the roll is revolved by hand until the portion 60 of the split coupling is uppermost, as shown in the drawings. The bearing cap 54 is then removed along with the portion 60 of the split coupling. It is thus clear that the current roll It! can be lifted without need of further removing transfer shoe 14 from engagement with the brushes 18.

To retain the shoe 14 substantially in position while the current roll 10 is removed I provide an aperture 68 in the end plate structure 34-which is just slightly larger than the previously mentioned extension 22 of the shoe 14. The result of this arrangement is that normally when the shoe 14 is coupled to the current roll 10 the extension 22 will ride freely without contacting the walls of aperture 68. However, when the split coupling is disassembled and the shoe 14 is no longer supported by shaft 40, the shoe 14 will be retained because the extension 22 will then engage the wall defining aperture 68, as will be Well understood with reference particularly to Figure 1.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that I have provided a novel and improved current transfer device which may be used to advantage in electro-plating lines and in all other apparatus where it is required to transfer high amperage electric current to a rotating member. As is pointed out at length above, the invention is particularly adapted to electro-plating lines where it is necessary at times to remove or replace the current roll and yet it is undesirable to completely disassemble the current transfer device in order to do this.

It will be understood that the foregoing detailed description has been given only for purposes of illustration and it is not intended to limit the scope of this invention. On the contrary, it is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In apparatus having a current roll for electro-plating and the like, a shaft extending from the current roll at one end thereof, a bearing having a cap portion for rotatably supporting the shaft, a current transfer device frame supported by the bearing, a cylindrical current transfer shoe supported on the shaft, a plurality of brushes mounted on the frame and positioned to ride against the cylindrical surface of the current transfer shoe, the transfer shoe being supported on the shaft by means of a split coupling, one portion of the split coupling being removable from engagement with the shoe and shaft to permit movement of the shaft away from the shoe in a direction transverse to the axis of the shoe, the arrangement being such' that removal of the said bearing cap and the said one portion of the split coupling will permit removal of the current roll and shaft from the shoe While the shoe remains substantially in its original position with respect to the brushes and said frame and brushes remain in alignment with said bearing.

2; Apparatus as in claim 1 and further comprising an axially positioned extension on the end of the shoe opposite the end having the split coupling, an aperture in the current transfer device frame positioned to surround the axial extension to provide non-contact operation while the shoe is mounted on the shaft by means of the split coupling, the arrangement of the axial extension and the aperture in the frame being such that the shoe will be supported in substantially its operating position when the one portion of the split coupling is removed from the shoe.

3. In apparatus having a current roll for electro-plating and the like, a shaft extending from the current roll at one end thereof, a bearing having a cap portion for rotatably supporting the shaft, a current transfer device frame supported by the bearing, a cylindrical current transfer shoe supported on the shaft, a plurality of brushes mounted on the frame and positioned to ride against the cylindrical surface of the current transfer shoe, the transfer shoe being supported on the shaft by means of asplit coupling, one portion of the split coupling being removable from engagement with the shoe and shaft to permit movement of the shaft away from the shoe in a direction transverse to the axis of the shoe, the arrangement being such that removal of the said bearing cap and the said one portion of the split coupling Will permit removal of the current roll and shaft from the shoe, the brushes being positioned to ride against the upper portion of the transfer shoe, the transfer device frame extending in spaced relationship to the lower portion of the transfer shoe, and a cover member hinged to the frame and arranged to be moved from a first position covering the brushes to a second position exposing the brushes.

1,571,303 Schafran Feb. 2, 1926 6 Stites Jan. 19, Thomas Aug. 5, Kyropoulous Sept. 16, Hollander J an. 26, Nachtman Aug. 10, Jones Nov. 2, Sciaky Nov. 14, Cooper Nov. 20, 

